Some might applaud me for not being taken in by the “shallowness”. My guess is I’m just cheap.

What is this thread about, again?

I think expensive cars are stupid – that’s why I don’t have one. If you think diamonds are stupid and sell for far more than their “true value”, don’t buy one. If you’re a guy and your girlfriend disagrees, then I guess your screwed.

All products are marketed, and the demand created by that marketing creates a “market price.” That’s what things sell for, and if to you it doesn’t represent “true value” to you you are free not to buy it. There’s nothing unusual or nefarious about it.

Feel free to google “economics 101″ for more information on the impact of marketing on demand and pricing.

As for the “slave labor” argument diamond miners are actually pretty well compensated compared to the other jobs available in their countries. Labor markets in poor countries are exploited – that’s an indisputable fact, and diamond miners are no exception. But that doesn’t make diamonds any more evil or the market any less legitimate than shoes made by child labor in sweatshops in China.

The presence of diamond resources (and shoe factories) helps lift the standard of living in otherwise poor countries. Botswana uses its diamond wealth to provide things like universal education for its people. Sierra Leone uses it to enrich its leaders.

Does that make diamonds from Botswana rough good, and diamonds from Sierra Leone rough bad? Or does it mean we have a lot of work to do to help Sierra Leone to change their political system to better provide for their people?

Newsflash Red – I enjoy educating people about my industry, whether or not they wind up changing their views. A give and take of honestly held viewpoints is always healthy.

So if you think continuing this string somehow hurts me, you have another “think” coming. But keep googling. It’s fun debating someone who thinks they know all about a topic because that spent 5 minutes on a computer.

Red Haven wrote:

HansBrix hits the nail right on the head. This is about decades of marketing and exploitation, not any true value. Perception is reality, and reality often bites.

HansBrix wrote:

A commodity that’s mined at near slave labor rates (and slave labor practices) and ends up costing many THOUSANDS through unbelievable mark-up is not what a rational person would consider an honest deal. The “breakfast” example cited above would indeed be a scam if the eggs cost several hundred dollars each due to a dairy farmer cartel.

Care to enlighten us as to where the diamond engagement ring tradition came from? Or who came up with with the “two months salary” benchmark? Hint: both are brilliant marketing department ideas.

Even if a diamond is “conflict free” (sure it is – the sales person said so) that doesn’t free it from ethics issues. How well are miner (minors!) treated? How many abdominal x-rays do they get per week to assure they’re not eating profits? How many children are killed or maimed all in pursuit of shiny rocks?

But what’s a child’s life when “she” gets to impress her friends!

Next time you go for a run or play basketball look at your feet. How old do you think the youngest person in the production line is?

How many of the products we enjoy come at a cost to the health of people involved with production?

Stop whining, both of you, and tell me what are you planning to do about it?

Let me educate you a little bit beyond what you have been able to learn by “googling” the phrase “kimberly process”.

First off, the “cartel” issue and the “conflict” issue have absolutely nothing to do with each other. “Conflict diamonds” are mined by bad revolutionary groups in Africa and sold to unscrupulous dealers mostly in Antwerp. Debeers never comes in contact with the stuff since by definition its mined by somebody else. Conflict diamonds, to the extent they exist, are sold outside the usual distribution chain – that’s what makes them so hard to monitor.

Second, $23 million in a $15 billion dollar a year industry is a pretty small number. While it would be nice to eliminate conflict diamonds entirely, that’s simply not possible, and, while you are free to feel otherwise, the numbers, even if they are a bit understated and they probably are, indicate that, at least for now, the problem is under control.

The Kimberly Process is not perfect. I agree with the “activists” quoted in the article that it could and should be strengthened by the adoption of mandatory rules codified by international treaties.

Nevertheless, the combination of the Kimberly Process and the resolution of various African conflicts has significantly reduced the flow of “conflict diamonds” to a virtual trickle, at least for now. That is likely to change if new civil wars break out in diamond producing countries, so it remains important to make sure that a system is in place to effectively deal with the problem if and when it rears its ugly head again.

Feel free to “google” some more and share your expertise.

HansBrix wrote:

Sneakers, clothing, cocoa, and roses are not sold for the kind of mark-ups that the diamond world sees. And that’s because the manufactures/distributors aren’t cartels who conspire to limit supplies in order to keep prices high.

Hmm. But have you heard the recent legal action being taken against the big 3 chocolate makers? Collusion, price fixing- how’s that much worse than this? Same basic idea.

Other than that, good point.

BTW, a thousand scams a day happen on 47th street. It’s a network TV exposé goldmine. Mediocre merchants there drive $60K cars. The guys who sell sneakers on washington street drive beaters. Ever wonder why?

Don’t get me started with picking cocoa beans or growing roses.

Hope everyone had a great Saint Valentines Day.

Care to enlighten us as to where the diamond engagement ring tradition came from? Or who came up with with the “two months salary” benchmark? Hint: both are brilliant marketing department ideas.

Even if a diamond is “conflict free” (sure it is – the sales person said so) that doesn’t free it from ethics issues. How well are miner (minors!) treated? How many abdominal x-rays do they get per week to assure they’re not eating profits? How many children are killed or maimed all in pursuit of shiny rocks?

But what’s a child’s life when “she” gets to impress her friends!